Paris

"Dinner, Dancing, Elves and Fairies"

As the cars drove up and stopped at what looked like a very old house, Harry wondered what the evening had in store for them. Hermione was holding his hand and as the door of the car opened, the light fell on her. Harry thought he had never seen her look so pretty or smile so happily. Her hair, dress and skin all seemed to shine. As they got out, he looked up to see a small sign hanging unobtrusively over the door. It read "Auberge Nicolas Flamel"! Harry turned quickly and looked at Hermione and Ivy, who nodded.

"Yes, Harry, this is the former home of Nicholas Flamel. It's also said to be the oldest home in Paris. Because it looks small and quiet from the outside, we found it the perfect spot to celebrate." Ivy told him, looking pleased at his wide eyed reaction.

Hermione squeezed Harry's arm and whispered, "Wait till you see how we've fixed it up. Of course Dumbledore was able to get permission for us to use it. Mom said she thinks he's more excited about tonight than we are!"

The Grangers and Harry moved to join the Weasleys, who were getting out of another two cars, and they all entered the house together. Molly was visibly moved and Harry could see happy tears in her eyes

"Arthur and I visited Paris on our honeymoon, so many years ago," she told Harry sheepishly. "We've wanted to come back so many times. But we had all the years when You Know Who made all of our lives full of terror, then Arthur has been so busy with the Ministry and the children were young. It seemed we'd never get back. And now here we are, ready to celebrate with you. It's a happy night, Harry, and Arthur and I love you like one of our own children."

Harry felt himself go at least ten shades of red, but he felt really pleased and happy too.

As they moved through the doors, they could see the house was really a restaurant. The front room was long with a fireplace at each end and comfortable looking couches and armchairs in groups. Further on, through a large arched opening was a much larger room. When they walked in, Harry looked around in amazement. There were several dozen round tables, covered with silver tablecloths. Off to the side of a white dance floor was a large wooden screen with carvings of unicorns. Music that sounded like flutes, violins and a harp drifted out. Obviously there would be more than one type of music though, since Harry could see guitars and drums set up beyond the dance floor.

"Wow, Hermione, this is cool!" Ron said loudly behind them. " What are you doing for birthday?"

Ginny punched Ron, and retorted, before Hermione could speak, "You idiot, she's not doing anything. Get your own girlfriend to host a party!"

"But I don't have....." Ron began, but stopped as he saw Adrian and Danielle come through the arched doorway with Danielle's mom and dad. "Mmm, excuse me," he said, and disappeared across the floor toward them. Ginny, Harry and Hermione had a quiet laugh as they saw Ron stride up and begin talking to the group, his eyes never leaving Danielle. Well, he could see why, thought Harry. Besides looking really pretty in the white dress, with tiny touches of gold, Danielle's eyes had lit up when she saw Ron, in a way that he knew must have made his best friend feel like someone had handed him a sack of galleons.
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"Nice," Harry whispered to Hermione." I reckon I'd be a jealous git if I hadn't seen you look at me that way a few times. But Hermione, this place looks beautiful. The colors and decorations are perfect!" The colors were great he thought, and so was the happy look Hermione gave him. The walls of the room were translucent cobalt blue, and silver clouds traced across, moving since they had been enchanted. The ceiling was a deeper, more opaque cobalt streaked with deep purple and covered with what looked like a million stars of varying brightness. A huge silver and bone white moon seemed to smile down on the scene.

Harry spotted several sets of French doors on one side of the room, just as Adrian walked up and greeted them. "So what's outside?" he asked Hermione.

"Oh, no, " she replied. "That's another surprise, but it's for later in the evening. And don't bother trying to look, because you won't see anything. Mom will open the doors after she's done the spell, and we'll..... well, never mind. It's something you'll love."

" I love it all, and it's.... " Harry began, when he saw a group come into the room. There were the rest of the Weasleys. Percy with Penelope, and Charlie with a girl who looked as accustomed to being outdoors as Charlie. She had very dark hair in a thick braid that didn't hide its curl and bright blue-green eyes in a deeply tanned face. Behind them were Bill and Fleur, Fleur obviously speaking in very rapid French to Bill, who seemed to be only partly listening. This had to be because a tall wizard was also speaking to him from the other side, and Harry was surprised to see Oliver Wood.

Harry and Hermione barely had time to greet this group before more people appeared, among them Lee Jordan, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, closely followed by some of his friends from their own year."How did all of you manage to come over?" Harry asked, after enthusiastically greeting Dean, Seamus, Lavendar and Pavarti. "Are your families here too?"

"Oh no," replied Dean. "We traveled to Seamus' house by floo powder, then by portkey the rest of the way. Quite an experience, wasn't it girls?" He looked teasingly at Lavendar and Pavarti, who were still attempting to smooth their hair and dresses. and trying not to stare at Ginny and Hermione. Since they were not making much progress with their dresses or their hair, and their eyes had that wide as dinner plates look, Hermione said, in a voice that barely hid her amusement, "Ginny, why don't we take Lavendar and Pavarti upstairs so they can, er, straighten themselves. And I believe we have a bit of catching up to do."

Lavendar and Pavarti's eyes widened even more as Hermione turned to kiss Harry on the cheek and he hugged her and whispered, not very softly, "Hurry back though. It's not fun without you." Ginny and Adrian exchanged a few whispered words. then the girls left the room. As they went Harry could hear Lavendar saying," No fun without Hermione, the brain? I've got to hear about this!" He was really glad Hermione had taken the girls away, because he knew Lavendar well enough to know she'd be full of questions about the new side of his and Hermione's friendship. He was just glad Hermione had been brave enough to answer them, since he knew he'd stumble and stutter over things and probably wind up making Hermione think he didn't care about her. It was one thing to tell Hermione how he felt, but talking to Lavendar was another whole thing. Besides, telling Lavendar and Pavarti anything was like ringing a fire alarm. By the time they got back to Hogwarts at the beginning of term, anything Hermione and Ginny told them would be known by the whole school.

Beside him, Harry heard Seamus exclaim, "Oh, no! We've gotta do something about this!" and his eyes followed Seamu's finger as he pointed across the room. There standing by his formidable grandmother was Neville, and with them was Professor MacGonagall, all talking to Ivy and Molly. He noticed Neville was looking even more nervous than ever, but whether that was due to the stiffness of his collar, the presence of his grandmother or the prospect of dancing with a girl, Harry didn't know. He and Seamus walked over and managed to drag Neville away after only a few moments of birthday greetings and reminders from"Gran" about not eating too much or dancing too fast

.The surprises weren't over though. Harry heard a squeal of excitement from the room with the fireplaces and a moment later Professor Dumbledore appeared with Lavendar and Pavarti on either side, looking as if they had mixed feelings about being escorted by their headmaster. Behind them was- Harry could hardly believe his eyes! It was Remus Lupin with Hermione holding his arm, and chattering away happily. He felt a huge grin spread over his face. Not only was it great to see his favorite professor,but he could see Monsieur Maas hadn't been exaggerating. He had never seen Professor Lupin look so healthy and happy.

Harry quickly made his way to where the new arrivals were and found himself in a hug and handshake from the Headmaster and Professor Lupin while Hermione stood there beaming. .Pavarti and Lavendar, Harry noticed, had quickly made their way back to the group of younger people and he was amused to see Pavarti trying, unsuccessfully, to distract Adrian's attention from Ginny to herself. Now where was Ron? He knew his friend was going to be as happy as he was to see Lupin. Ah, there he was, over beside the screen that hid the musicians, partly hidden by a large plant, with his head very close to Danielle's. Harry watched, amused, as Danielle pulled her long hair to one side , exposing her neck where he saw Ron immediately place several kisses. Danielle giggled and turned pink, looking very pleased. Obviously Ron had quickly lost his uncertainty about girls, this one anyway!.

Looking over at Hermione, Harry decided Ron had the right idea, as he pulled her closer. These fancy muggle dresses were really all right, he thought, sliding his hand slowly across Hermione's shoulders and feeling her shiver a little and move into the circle of his arms. He was all prepared to suggest they find another large plant when the music suddenly stopped.
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When the music stopped, there was the usual confusion of people caught in mid conversation, and looking a bit embarrassed, as if uncertain how much of their conversations had been overheard. Harry was glad he hadn't begun to suggest a private corner to Hermione, Lavendar and Pavarti were already staring at them. He promised himself he'd dance with each of them at least once and make sure they understood he and Hermione were now more than friends.

Ivy, Chris and Dumbledore were in front of the area where the band would be playing, and Dumbledore began to speak.

"We'd like to welcome you all this evening, as we celebrate our friend Harry's birthday. I won't embarrass him with long speeches, but I know I speak for all of you when I wish him many, many more birthdays as happy as this one. This is your first birthday celebrated as your parents would have wished, Harry. May we all enjoy it as Lily and James would . Now, Ivy has a few announcements, I think."

"Harry, we are all so happy to be with you to celebrate. As most people here now know, Lily was my dearest friend, and what a joy it is to finally be able to show you some good times, as Professor Dumbledore says, as your parents would wish. We will have time for lots of toasts later,as well as a surprise to end the evening. Before dinner, I would also like to welcome all of you who have made the trip to be here. We have a new arrival who some of you will not have seen in quite some time, Remus Lupin. I'm happy to tell all of you that Remus is well on his way to having his affliction completely controlled, and it's a joy that he could be here with us, looking so well. Please join me in welcoming Remus!"

With that Ivy, Dumbledore and Chris began to applaud, joined by more and more guests, some of whom looked extremely shocked and a bit uncertain. Harry thought how clever Ivy was to immediately make it impossible for anyone at the party to snub or treat Professor Lupin unkindly. She and Hermione certainly believed in plunging right into difficult situations most people would have tried to ignore.

When the applause began to fade, Ivy continued, telling the group to find their names on the tables and the food would be served. Harry found himself at a table with Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Adrian and Danielle. All around them, friends sat, laughing and talking happily. Harry had the same sensation he'd had that afternoon, sitting with their friends at the ice cream shop, just complete happiness. He was startled to look up from admiring the table with its fresh yellow roses and violets in round clear glass bowls, to see a large group of house elves coming in, proudly carrying huge trays and pushing carts of delicious smelling food. He turned to Hermione in amazement and managed to croak out," Y-you had house elves prepare the food? What happened to S.P.E.W.?"

Hermione looked sheepish, but said cheerfully, "This is a bit different, Harry, they aren't here as slaves. Dumbledore asked for volunteers who wanted to come help. But the condition for coming was that they had to spend two days just enjoying themselves here, before they began preparing the food. Before we came back in, Professor Dumbledore was telling us that some of them were about to have nervous fits, not working, but by the end of two days, they all admitted they had enjoyed it. Though all of them said it would never take the place of scrubbing a dirty floor or feeding a few hundred people."

"Good news for us, that." Ron said, grinning at Hermione. "Will you give it up now?"

Danielle looked from Ron to Hermione and back with a bewildered look. "What is it that Hermione gives up? You want her dinner? I think there will be plenty, Ron, even for one so hungry as you."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, unable to stifle their laughter. "So, you found out very quickly what Ron finds most important in life?" Harry asked, expecting to see Ron glowering at him. Instead Ron just laughed.

"Oh yeah, we're well on our way to knowing each other." he replied. "And if it stays this much fun, I have a feeling food is going to drop way down on the list."

Danielle's cheeks turned much pinker when she heard this, but she smiled and said, "The house elves will always be much happier working. Mama and Papa have always insisted our house elf come along on holiday with us, so that she would not take the whole house apart, cleaning while we were gone. Poor thing. she is having a difficult time, knowing that I will be far away this year."

"Far?" asked Ginny. "Where will you be?"

"She 's coming to Hogwarts, Gin " Ron told her. Harry thought Ron looked like a cat who had just been presented with its favorite treat, and Danielle was beaming too.

"Yes, " she said. "It was just finally decided this afternoon. When Mama found out Ivy and Chris will also be at Hogwarts, she was able to help me persuade Papa. Only Max does not know, and I fear he will not be happy."

Harry didn't think Max would be very happy either. He didn't know the French boy very well, but he did know Max felt very close to his sister, and was already not happy about his friend Adrian leaving. He wondered how Max would react when he found out Danielle had already met and developed a mutual crush on a Hogwarts' student.

The food they ate was delicious, and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time, when they heard talking out in the entrance. Ivy and Chris started to rise to go to the other room but before they could, Hagrid swept in, followed by Lee Jordan and a boy who looked younger than Lee and the Weasley twins, but older than Harry. He was dark haired and had blue green eyes. The boy ,who Lee introduced as Damien, looked friendly, but Harry for some reason felt a strangeness from him. Things were confusing for a few moments as Hagrid greeted everyone in his usual boisterous way, and Lee explained why he and his companion were arriving late. Hagrid managed to squeeze into a couple of chairs at one of the outer tables, and Lee and his friend sat with others who would be entering their seventh year. Things were a bit crowded and Seamus asked the new boy to join them. Harry was glad, because for some reason, he felt he needed to find out more about him.

"So, you're a friend of Lee's?" asked Seamus. "Have you been visiting all summer?"

"Oh, no," said Damien. "I just arrived several days ago. Lee and I hadn't met before, but our moms met years ago at school. My mom did a year at Hogwarts, and now I'm going to do the same. Lee suggested I come along, said it would be a good chance to meet some of the students before term started."

'Hmmm,' thought Harry. 'Even without a Triwizard's tournament, this looks like a year with a real international group.' He was going to be watching Dumbledore carefully, to see whether the headmaster reacted in any way to this new student. Now, though, it was time to concentrate on the delicious food in front of him, and enjoy being with his friends, What a change from other years, when by this time he would have been alone in his room at the Dursleys' crossing off his birthday as just another day toward getting back to Hogwarts. Now though, his plate was full and Hermione was looking at him in a way that made him want to pull her outside those French doors and kiss her until neither of them could stand up.

Hermione grinned at him, as if she had read his mind and leaned over to whisper, "Soon". He shivered as her lips brushed his ear, and he thought 'Oh, this girl loves to torture me, but I'll pay her back, and very soon!'

The rest of the supper passed fairly uneventfully, and when everyone was finishing up, the members of the band stepped up and began to play. They were very good, Harry thought, and seemed able to play anything. Fred, George, Lee, Angelina, Alicia and Katie were the first ones on the dance floor, but they were quickly joined by Chris and Ivy who amazed them all by being quite proficient at the same dancing the teenagers were enjoying.

"I think they've managed to forget I exist during the school year. I bet they go out dancing every night!" Hermione pretended to pout as she said this, but Harry thought it was very obvious she was proud of her parents. Now, if he could just remember to dance the way Hermione had taught him, before they left for Paris. He grinned to himself as he thought back on the rainy afternoons when they had started out practicing dancing to some fast and loud music, but ended up on the window seat, very close together, watching the rain, in case anyone asked, but really doing something entirely different. Hermione had put Crookshanks' basket directly in front of the door and he had obligingly meowed very loudly whenever anyone approached. Crookshanks had actually begun to earn a warm spot in Harry's heart recently.

The dance floor was very crowded when they saw Fred and George hurry toward the arched opening to the front room, and they came back in with several people who looked vaguely familiar to Harry, at least the girls did. He saw Fred and George talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who beckoned for Ivy and Chris to join them. After a few moments, all of the group moved onto the dance floor and Harry realized where he'd seen the girls. Fred and George has been talking to them in the French wizarding street. Apparently, they had been in on the party location, and asked them to drop by with a few friends. Angelina, Katie and Alicia seemed to be enjoying meeting the French boys too. He was glad to see Hermione was doing nothing more than smiling at Fred and George as they suddenly seemed to have forgotten how to dance. Their partners, who were very pretty and very stylish, were quite happily involved in " teaching" them again. Ron and Danielle had danced over to the large plant again, and Harry expected to see them disappear from sight any moment. Unexpectedly, Hermione pulled his head down and whispered, "Would you like to explore the house a bit? I've got a set of keys."

"You mean it?" Harry said, almost afraid to believe his luck. She nodded and very quickly led him out a small door that was almost hidden by one of the food carts. They were in a dark stairway, and Hermione quickly pulled out her wand, and muttered "lumous" . They went up the stairs and found themselves in a room with a glass ceiling, lots of plants, and some long couches with only one arm. In the center of the room was a fountain that had different colors and soft music coming from it. There were twinkling lights that Harry recognized as fairies, but Hermione walked over, swished her wand and the fairies swarmed away.

"Little pests!" she said with a grimace. "I suppose I'll catch it now, they'll probably turn up downstairs, and will be pulling someone's hair, or something. I forgot this room had a fairy infestation. It seems Perenelle, Nicolas' wife had this fondness for them and they still breed more freely here than anyplace."

Harry saw what she meant, there were cocoons hanging that he recognized as belonging to fairies. As they stood there another swarm flew out from under the fountain, surrounding them, until Hermione swished them away. He led her over to one of the strange looking couches, sat down and pulled her onto his lap.

"This is an interesting dress, Hermione. It almost feels like it's made of some metal, it's so cold and smooth, but it moves with you like it's part of you. I like it, it's like you with a smooth, silver skin."

Hermione laughed and snuggled in closer "That's funny, you like it for the same reasons my dad didn't. I wasn't sure you'd notice."

"Not notice? Am I blind? No, I wouldn't mind if you wore dresses made out of whatever this is all the time, in all kinds of colors. I can see how your dad would say that though. I do seem to feel like touching you more than before, and I wouldn't have thought that was possible."

Hermione moved Harry's hands so that they were on her hips and leaned back to look at him. "I wouldn't have expected seeing you in a tuxedo to make me feel that way either," she told him. "You look amazingly natural in formal wear, I would never have expected such a handsome escort tonight. This'll be something to remember when we're back in our robes at school."

Harry groaned and buried his head in her hair, "Don't remind me! Usually I'm having such a miserable summer, the main pleasure of the day is marking off another day till time to get back for the start of term........somehow this year isn't that way."

"Not for me either. And, guess what... I haven't done my summer homework. When we get back, I'll have to shut myself up in my room and get to work."

Harry couldn't believe his ears. Hermione hadn't done her homework? He knew she usually finished it at least by the second week of vacation, while he was struggling to do his, having to work at night, after his aunt, uncle and Dudley were asleep and out of the way. But still........" You won't be shutting yourself up alone, remember, we both have work to do."

"Somehow, I think we'd get distracted by "other things" but, what the heck, we can give it a try. But first, I think Harry Potter needs some birthday kisses, before we go down for cake, toasts and surprises.

Harry could find no problem with this plan ,and he and Hermione spent a very pleasurable time, stretched out on the couch. All too soon he felt something tickling, then stinging the back of his neck and he turned to see the fairies were back and seemed determined to stay.

"Okay, Wizard - that's our signal to leave the private party," Hermione said regretfully, giving him a huge hug and, standing up. "They'll be looking for us soon. Now let's get all festive again, hang on, this may feel a bit odd." Hermione pulled him to his feet and muttered, "Wrinkle finitium". He felt several little pulls in all directions, but when Hermione lowered her wand, he could tell his shirt was neat and starched again.

They looked at their reflections in the glass walls and both laughed. "One thing about being a witch and wizard," Hermione said through a giggle, "Unless they actually catch us DOING something, no one knows just how well we just celebrated. But let's go, before my self-discipline leaves first."

"Um, there's one thing I'm wondering though. Hermione, I may be crazy, but there's something about that guy, Damien who came in with Lee Jordan, I don't know what it is." Harry felt somewhat foolish, but he'd always shared his feelings with Hermione as far as possible dangers. He wasn't going to stop now, even though he knew it would make him feel worse than before if she scoffed at his intuition."Did you feel something sort of,well, sinister? I can't put my finger on it, but it's there."

"Maybe Harry, but I can't honestly say, I wasn't paying that much attention, so much was happening. I 'll talk to him when we go back down. Or maybe dance with him?"

"No!" exclaimed Harry, without thinking. "See, Hermione, it's a feeling like my scar hurting. It makes no sense, it just happens."

Hermione began to look alarmed now. "You mean you think he's connected to You Know Who somehow? Oh, Harry, we need to tell Mom and Dumbledore! We said we would."

"Okay," replied Harry. "But let's wait until we've talked to him together and separately. Maybe the guy is just nervous."

" I don't think so, Harry," Hermione said, not reassuringly. "One thing I did notice about him..... he didn't seem to be lacking self confidence. Let's not let it spoil the evening though. I don't think we are in danger right now, we'll just have that constant vigilance."

Harry grimaced as he remembered the "fake" Mad Eye Moody but he knew that much was true. Even though this had been a terrific summer, they still had to be on guard. And he wasn't letting anyone spoil this party.

Slipping into the dancing crowd was not as difficult as Harry imagined it might have been. He and Hermione parted for a while and danced with different partners. He spent some time, as he had planned, with Lavendar and Pavarti, and even though they still looked skeptical after he had managed to tell them he and Hermione had become very close, at least he had tried. Besides, how could he not feel this way about Hermione, he thought, as he watched her shining form dancing with various wizards in the room. Lavendar and Pavarti were certainly pretty and it would be hard not to notice them, in their bright colors and abundance of flashing jewelry. Somehow though, he liked looking at Hermione, Ginny and Danielle more. Maybe he should dance with Danielle, and with Ginny, if he could tear them away from Ron and Adrian.

Harry saw, across the dance floor, that Percy and Penelope seemed to be very happy about something and he wondered whether Percy had decided to propose. It kind of looked that way, they both had a goofy look on their faces. He wondered how Mrs. Weasley would react to the first of her children leaving home to get married.

After dancing with Ginny and Danielle, Harry was siting at a table with Adrian, Fred and George, discussing the coming year's Quidditch team and Gryffindor's chances of winning the Quidditch Cup. The band stopped after a song and they saw that Ron and Hermione were up in front of the band, calling for everyone's attention. Fred and George pulled Harry to his feet, and they walked up to join Ron and Hermione. There was a huge decorated birthday cake and before he could protest, his two best friends had each taken one of his arms, and were leading the room in singing birthday greetings. He knew he must have been all the colors of red that existed, and he felt as if his neck and ears were on fire, but it wasn't all that unpleasant. As mugs of butterbeer were passed out, he couldn't help thinking back to the year he had sat glumly on the garden bench on Privet Drive, thinking everyone he had known at Hogwarts had already forgotten him. What a different world he now lived in! Looking around at all the friendly faces shining, and making toasts to him, Harry felt all the years he'd spent in misery and loneliness were truly behind him.No, he still didn't have his mom and dad, but what a huge family he did have, not only the Weasleys but Hermione's family and the prospect of Sirius being free to give them the home together they'd hoped for.

They all enjoyed the cake and finding the various trinkets the house elves had hidden. He smiled when he saw Hermione hold up a tiny broomstick, and Ron and Danielle laughing as they compared the matching hearts they'd found in their slices of cake. He saw Dobby waving to him from beside a food cart, and then found himself biting down on something hard. It turned out to be a tiny cottage, which he hoped meant he and Sirius would soon have that home. Everyone jumped as someone squealed loudly and looked to see Penelope laughing happily, as she held up a ring with a sparkling stone, and Percy standing there with his usual smug look. Still, Harry grinned when he noticed Percy was carefully avoiding his mother's eyes.

Ivy then made her way to the band area, and called for their attention. "Now for our final event of the evening, if you'll all step through the French doors, you'll find a Quidditch area has been set up. You'll find brooms there, and robes in two colors. If we need space for two teams, I will expand the area.There should be time for at least one game, assuming nothing very unusual happens. Don't worry about being seen, Albus and I have set up wards around the restaurant and gardens, similar to those at Hogwarts."

"Harry, you will think I've gone crazy, but I think I feel like playing," Hermione said, as they all rushed happily through the doors. Harry stared at her, but smiled as they joined the others. Life and Hermione never stopped surprising him. There was no way of knowing how this evening would end.One thing he knew though, even with all the dangers he'd been involved in and would be in the future, he wouldn't trade places with anyone!